Clausewitz, On War, Book 1, Chapter 1, §2 "Definition"

by Corry Shores
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Clausewitz, On War

Book I "On the Nature of War"

Chapter I "What is War?"

§2 "Definition"

War is duel.

War is nothing but a duel on an extensive scale. If we would conceive as a unit the countless number of duels which make up a War, we shall do so best by supposing to ourselves two wrestlers.

Both sides strive with physical force to pacify their opponent.

WAR THEREFORE IS AN ACT OF VIOLENCE INTENDED TO COMPEL OUR OPPONENT TO FULFIL OUR WILL.

War calls for all means. War moves men's minds to new heights and dimensions of ingenuity and creation. Thus,

Violence arms itself with the inventions of Art and Science in order to contend against violence.

Armies may follow international war laws, but that impairs their power of violence no less. Our ultimate AIM is "the compulsory submission of the enemy to our will."

Violence, that is to say, physical force (for there is no moral force without the conception of States and Law), is therefore the MEANS.

The immediate OBJECT of our hostility is to fully disarm our enemy.

We must always make precise calculations that govern our actions. But since attaining our final end will result only after countless actions, it will be difficult to factor-in this final calculation. Hence we should put aside calculating our direct path to our final end, and instead focus our attention of our immediate object, complete disarmament.

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Text from the original translation:

2. DEFINITION.

We shall not enter into any of the abstruse definitions of War used by publicists. We shall keep to the element of the thing itself, to a duel. War is nothing but a duel on an extensive scale. If we would conceive as a unit the countless number of duels which make up a War, we shall do so best by supposing to ourselves two wrestlers. Each strives by physical force to compel the other to submit to his will: each endeavours to throw his adversary, and thus render him incapable of further resistance.

WAR THEREFORE IS AN ACT OF VIOLENCE INTENDED TO COMPEL OUR OPPONENT TO FULFIL OUR WILL.

Violence arms itself with the inventions of Art and Science in order to contend against violence. Self-imposed restrictions, almost imperceptible and hardly worth mentioning, termed usages of International Law, accompany it without essentially impairing its power. Violence, that is to say, physical force (for there is no moral force without the conception of States and Law), is therefore the MEANS; the compulsory submission of the enemy to our will is the ultimate object. In order to attain this object fully, the enemy must be disarmed, and disarmament becomes therefore the immediate OBJECT of hostilities in theory. It takes the place of the final object, and puts it aside as something we can eliminate from our calculations.

Clausewitz, Carl von. On War, Vol.1. Transl. J.J. Graham.

Text available online at:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1946/1946-h/1946-h.htm